The Final
by lilforgetsalot
Summary: *WARNING: Spoilers* An attempt at writing what happens following the events of Spirit Bound.
1. Chapter One

At first, I was lying on the bed idly. But while my body remained relatively motionless, my mind ran miles. It sprinted relentlessly to places far beyond the walls of this God forsaken cage. I felt the paper tucked under my hand. Ambrose had given it to me under what I assumed had been an order from the recently murdered Queen Tatiana. Evidently another Dragomir still walked this planet. My mind reeled with the implications of it all considering the origins of this mysterious stranger. An illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I'd rather not believe it, but considering the woman who had told me supposedly hated my guts had been the one to tell me, I was a little less reluctant.

But that really wasn't important right now considering the fact that I was on my way to a trial sometime in the near future. Or was it? No one seemed to know much of anything. I had half a mind to believe that I would be the last one in on anything from here on out.

And, yet, when thinking about the letter, I couldn't help but focus on the very opening line.

_If you are reading this, then something terrible has happened._

I may be no Sherlock Holmes, but that was evidence enough for me to suggest that she had known it may have been coming down to this. Question is: who had plotted and sloppily murdered the Moroi queen? Clearly people thought I had, but that was just a load of bull. Sure, we never quite saw eye to eye, but murder? Even I have my standards and that sure as hell wasn't one of them. Whoever had done it seemed keen on pinning the matter on me and getting me executed. I couldn't even fathom why someone would pick me for a scapegoat other than the fact that I was pretty much the perfect target in a sense. I seriously doubted that was enough. There had to be some larger picture I needed to uncover that would give this whole thing some twisted reasons for being the way it was.

Frowning, my fingers started drumming the mattress erratically. I really needed someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of, but my darling father-in-lawyer Abe Mazur had slithered off to do Lord knows what. Whatever it was, it was probably going to be him exercising every resource he had to crack this puppy open and win me back my chances of a future. Hopefully. Considering how I had picked him over a renowned Moroi attorney, I needed to start placing some serious trust in Zmey. From this cell I had next to no chance of finding a means to defend myself. All I had was him and whatever help he or my friends could scrounge up. Being confined really limited my options and I doubted I could seriously charm any of my stoic guards into being a pal and letting me out.

I sat up and ruffled my hair, contemplating whether I should check in with Lissa right now or not. I really wished I could break the one-way rule of our bond to let her know about the possibility of another Dragomir. While I'm sure the idea would be thrilling, I stopped myself at the reminder of this person's illegitimacy. Knowing how Lissa viewed the life she had had with her family as rosy and nearly perfect, hearing the possibility of her father committing adultery would probably crush her. Even I had a little trouble swallowing it. But when I had already heard the rumor of his skirt-chasing from an intoxicated Moroi in Las Vegas and from the queen of the Moroi herself, it was getting a little harder to refute.

I then decided against slipping into Lissa's head. Worry already radiated off of her like no other and I felt I could safely assume she was still conversing with whoever would listen to her about the injustices of the situation and how I of all people wouldn't slam a stake into Queen Tatiana's heart. I'd check in with her later. Right now I needed to think.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood, tangling my hands in my hair to give them something to do. There was really nothing I could do until Abe or someone showed up. Given that I probably had a very short list of potential visitors, I was waiting for Abe more than anyone else. I clung to strange hopes like Lissa compelling her way in here with Christian and Adrian or even Dimitri—

Dimitri.

All my thinking stopped as if a wrench had been through into the churning gears of my mind. I didn't understand him anymore. It wasn't to be said that I had really understood much of anything since he had returned from the nightmare of being a Strigoi, but now I couldn't tell heads from tales. He made he ache and feeling immense anger at the same time while still maintaining some glimmer of hope. It was a miracle the hope was sticking around. After blatantly turning me down again and again and even going so far as to tell me he no longer loved me, the past twenty-four hours suggested otherwise. At the café, he had initially given me the impression that he wanted me to approach him. Once it became a graver situation with royal guards coming to take me away, he had instantly jumped to my defense. The guardian I knew him to be and loved so dearly had reared its badass head. And then in the court room, that gaze of his…

He had told me with those eyes that he had been prepared to face any and all obstacles keeping me from him. All to keep me safe.

If he really didn't love me, they why would he have done any of that?

Maybe it took him the chance to realize I was in danger beyond his control for him to knock back into his old self. The Dimitri that loved me as much as I loved him. I didn't know, but I sure as hell wished it was like that. That would make things simple and kindle my wisp of hope. Not that I should really be focusing on this right now. I may never even get to find out the answer to all of this if I didn't prove my innocence and escape the threat of execution.

With a dejected sigh I fell back onto the bed. It was hardly comfortable, but then again cells weren't exactly designed with comfort in mind. I was about to reverse my previous decision and slip off into Lissa's mind for lack of nothing to do when I heard sounds suggesting that Zmey was making his return. And when I caught sight of him, I was up and closing in on the bars instantly. He came to the bars with a nonchalant walk with an almost pompous swagger only he could pull off. He was still dressed in the same casual attire he had worn to the hearing with nothing bearing so much as a wrinkle.

"What catastrophes have you been out orchestrating?" I asked, happy that my Rose Hathaway spunk shone even in the face of death. For someone who had been cursing up a storm about how Abe wasn't taking this seriously, I sure as hell fell into the same line of light-hearted bantering without much trouble. What a hypocrite.

Abe glanced at the guards on either side of my cell door, ignoring me. "Can we get a little breathing room here? I'm trying to consult with the defendant if you don't mind."

The guardians looked to one another, but took a couple steps back. Maybe they knew who they were dealing with. Maybe not. It didn't really matter anyway since they still moved.

When he turned to me, it was hard to judge what emotion he was displaying. His hazelnut eyes gave me nothing other than the spark of a burning passion. It was the kind that went along with him having told me that nothing would harm me, no matter what. Being Zmey, I had the notion I should put my luck with him, but I couldn't bring myself to put all my eggs in one basket just yet.

"I've got my men looking into this as we speak," he informed me in a tone I assumed the guards wouldn't catch. "They'll be able to find out whoever did this even if they have to tear Court from the inside out."

"Good to know you're on the job," I replied dryly. "This is all just stupid and a waste of time since I didn't do anything. They'd do better with actually trying to find the real killer."

"This is the easiest way for the Moroi to regain peace among their people," Abe pointed out. He was being so serious I felt guilty for trying to stave off the gravity of everything. It really caused me to sober up in the blink of an eye. "Being the load of royal pricks they are, the easiest way is the way to go." Then, as if he felt it completely necessary, he added, "But we won't make it easy for them. By the time I'm through with them, they'll have nothing but a gaping hole in their house of cards."

His tone led me to believe that only hell itself could come between him and his goal. Which really it was all good news to me. I should have really started counting what little lucky stars I had left since they had given me a mobster for a father willing to take on the Moroi judicial system in full force to bail me out.

"Any leads on who really killed Tatiana?" I asked, folding my arms and shifting my weight to one leg.

"Yes and no," said Abe.

I resisted the urge to groan. "Which means what exactly?" I asked.

"I answered yes and no because there isn't enough to say anything for sure. What's fairly obvious is that this is more than likely an inside job," Abe explained. Oddly enough, it started reminding me of the Tarasov incident where Lissa, Eddie and I had successfully conducted the extraction of Victor Dashkov from a maximum security prison way out in Alaska. Now wasn't the time to think about that though and I quickly tuned back into reality. "My guess is some Royal decided it was time to take out the queen."

A Royal could—no, it was probably more likely than just a simple speculation—be behind this. I probably should have thought of that from the beginning.

"A Royal would probably get much more out of this than I ever could," I said quietly, letting my disgust contort my features. "Makes you wonder why they never thought of that when they jumped on poor ol' Rose."

Abe's face lightened up just a little and he shook his head. "Again, you're the easier target."

"Fate just loves me like that," I replied, rolling my eyes.

Suddenly, I was rethinking the possibility of the Dragomir mess connecting to all of this. It was oddly coincidental that I had been in contact with the alchemist Sydney about files on Eric Dragomir being stolen not long before Tatiana had been killed. What if there was a connection? Even if there was one, what could it be? Unless…

What if someone didn't want Lissa in a position of power? Plenty of the other royal families were probably flat out against letting Lissa take her rightful place among the elite and powerful as the last Dragomir. Heck, the queen herself had used archaic law from the Stone Age to keep Lissa from casting her vote against the latest decree condemning sixteen-year-olds to an early death. But Tatiana had been the one murdered, so I really didn't understand how any of that worked; especially since I had gotten a letter from her relaying to me information that would grant Lissa voting rights.

I jostled myself from my thoughts to face an inquisitive Abe. There was no doubt I hadn't been very good at keeping my epiphany from showing. However, I was unsure if I should tell Abe about it. At the same time, he was pretty much my only hope right now, right? If he knew where to start looking, then maybe we could get to the bottom of this before whatever window of opportunity I had left shut. Or before the culprit slipped so far out of reach that it would be nearly impossible to track them down. Knowing Abe though, any flight from the murderer would prove futile. He could probably find a needle in a haystack without even physically trying. He'd have people do it for him, but that's besides the matter.

"Care to enlighten me what you're thinking?" Abe asked, but it almost sounded more like a demand. A discreet one really, but one you instantly understood.

I still had qualms about telling him, but I decided to go for an indirect route. I'd decide later whether not I wanted to let him in on the whole Dragomir situation. "What if this has to do with Lissa being a Dragomir?"

His brow creased, but then smoothed out as if it had merely been a glitch. "You think this has to do with that whole incident with barring her from voting?"

How resourceful of him; he knew about it already without me explaining it to him. Not that I would really expect anything less from Zmey. To his question, I shrugged. "I really don't know, but it's an idea."

"Better than nothing," he said and I could tell he was making a mental note of it. I also had the impression that he wasn't completely satisfied, that he suspected there was more to it. He paused briefly before then asking, "Are they treating you okay down here?"

Now, that was a little surprising. I had anticipated a little more of an interrogation, but maybe he was trust me to tell him what I felt was relevant or something.

"As much as I think anyone would with a potential death sentence hanging over their head for committing regicide," I replied with a shrug. "Why the sudden concern about my wellbeing?"

"Can a father be worried about his daughter?" I think he was trying to pull for an honest expression, but it's hard to believe a face like that when Abe's probably one of the most shady characters I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I shifted my weight to my other leg. "Sure they can, but being a badass gangster kind of makes that seem impossible."

"Being a badass gangster also means I specialize in making the impossible possible," Abe said in a tone I could only describe as smug. I dared say I preferred this Abe to the serious one that had initially come down here.

"Glad to see you have pride in your mystical ways," I retorted lightly, sarcasm evident in my tone. A thought suddenly hit me and I was then asking, "Have you see my mom?"

Abe made a quick survey of the guardians to make sure they were oblivious to our conversation. He shook his head. "No, but she might just bring a firestorm down with her when she finds out."

I nearly groaned at that. Problem was, I could almost imagine that. My mother, Guardian Hathaway, was probably the source of my fiery attitude. Not that Abe didn't contribute to it, but there was no doubt that there were similarities between my mother and me. And while she would be a force to be reckoned with if she found her way here, I almost wished she were here. She was my mother of all people. We hadn't exactly been on the best of terms for the longest time, but now I found the idea of her present and ready to defend me something I needed. Despite all of that, she had her duties and a Moroi to protect. So the chances of her busting in were slim to none.

"Have you seen Lissa or Adrian lately?" I asked.

Abe gave me a gesture that suggested he hadn't. "Not really."

Before long, Abe was gone at the beckoning of one of his cronies and I was alone once again. Well, not entirely alone. The guards where there obviously, but all my attempts at striking up conversation with the guards proved useless. Apparently when picking the security detail to keep watch over me, they had specifically picked the most antisocial guardians available. The new bunch that came in sometime later didn't so much as flinch when I gave a frustrated yell and flopped onto the bed in defeat. Lying there left me feeling like one of those toy propeller airplanes with the rubberband wound as much as possible but with nowhere to go. I had four walls and myself. And Lissa if you counted the bond letting me know that she was getting ready for bed. If you could call it that.

Through the bond, I could feel she was just about as restless as I was, but I could tell she was tired. It had been a long day of trying to ask around and gather her closest friends to discuss the situation.

Honestly, I wasn't really feeling tired in the slightest, but it made me wonder about something else.

"Hey, what times is it?" I asked aloud.

When I got no response, I rolled over onto my stomach and sighed. "Oh, come on! I just want to know what time it is!"

Just when I though the jerks were set on ignoring me completely, one of them checked his watch. "Eight in the morning."

"Thank you," I replied. "See, now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

I thought I heard one of them let out a snort of laughter. It made me crack a smile before settling back down into the abysmal task of doing absolutely nothing. I ran mental circles and otherwise tried to think of very little. Lissa had fallen asleep somewhere along the way, so nothing there for me to take a peek at. As it got later and I thought about sleep myself, I realized I didn't feel particularly fond of sleeping right now. Sleeping meant dreaming and dreaming meant that I was probably due for a chat with Adrian. The very thought of it made me feel wide awake as a torrent of emotions began stirring within me.

What had happened between me and him a day ago was as fresh to me as ever. My neck still bore the mark of his fangs. I could recall with crystal clarity the intimacy and passion of our night together. And yet, looking back on it now, I couldn't quite—or really at all—stifle an immense feeling of shame. I had let him, a Moroi, drink my blood. Allowing for a Moroi to do that was something that generally only blood whores participated in. Really, I couldn't figure out how I had ever thought of any of that as a good idea. Maybe I'd been driven by the torrent of painful emotions that had struck me following Dimitri's claim that his love for me had essentially died. I know I had told Adrian that Dimitri and I were over, but I still felt that what we had done was rushed. It had been driven by primal instincts and a need for comfort after having my heart hollowed out by Dimitri's simple words.

Whether Adrian knew it or not, it was unfair to him. I had decided I would try with him, and that was the first thing we had done. Almost had sex. Impulsive passion between us. I probably made that decision under the influence of wanting to forget. I knew moving on was important, but it was hard to believe I had made such a decision so quickly without sifting through it all very carefully.

The more I thought about it, the more disgusted I felt with myself and the more I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to see Adrian and feel my guilt mushroom within me. Not when I felt like I had wronged him yet again. And maybe now it wasn't even just that. While I seemed to have been able to convince myself that the door to my love with Dimitri had been shut, now I didn't know if I still felt that way. Or at least felt that way without a shred of doubt. Dimitri had jumped into action to ward off the royal guard, hadn't he?

Hope tried to well up in my chest, something wonderful and bright, but I made attempts to squash it. I chastised myself for even thinking about this right now. I couldn't help it though. Completely letting it go was apparently impossible right now. I wanted to believe in him and in the idea that there could still be an us in this accursed world. Lissa had told me not too long ago to give Dimitri time. But would that really solve it? For that matter, had my arrest changed something? He sure had resembled pre-Strigoi Dimitri before…

I was getting nowhere and knew that nowhere was where I'd keep going at this rate. I wish I could have entered Lissa's dream right then and there and tried to persuade her to do a little snooping for me, but I couldn't. I was no spirit user and even then she probably wouldn't. Infuriating as it was, she seemed overly protective of Dimitri. And that was aside from the fact that Dimitri seemed to adore her for reasons unknown. Okay, maybe not completely unknown. According to him, it seemed that her being the one who had driven the stake into his Strigoi heart and had brought his soul back to life meant she was the greatest thing to ever exist. I could understand that. Yet it escaped me how he seemed to have little respect for the work I had put into getting us that far. There would never have been another chance at life as dhampir for him if it hadn't been for me believing in fairytales. The lying and sneaking and break into security areas and even into Tarasov for Victor; it had all been me.

I stiffed on the bed at the thought of Victor. In the mess of events involving some Strigoi in a casino that had taken place in Las Vegas, Victor and his half-brother Robert Doru had gone AWOL. Who knew where they were now or what they were up—

Victor couldn't be behind this, could he?

To be honest, I felt justified in shooting that idea down. No. It wouldn't work for him. Even if he did remove the queen from the picture, no one in their right mind would put that sorry bastard in any position with any form of political clout. A moron could connect those dots. With what had had done, only those crazy enough to believe his insane agenda would swing his way. Not only that, but something told me Victor wouldn't be so quick to slam on the person who had given him freedom to begin with. While he answered to no one, I thought that of all people, he'd be one to respect the precious gift given to him. He could be half way to Antarctica with his brother for all I knew. At any rate, I was pretty sure Victor would be more apt to laying low for a while. Coming out to do anything drastic would jeopardize the miracle he had been given.

As if my thoughts were the undead incarnate (if that even made sense), they continued to cycle through topics until I had gone through the same ones at least five times. Somehow in the mess of things, I dozed off and succumbed to mental fatigue.


	2. Chapter Two

I immediately decided Fate despised me with a burning passion when I found myself wrapped in a dream that was too real. The scene around me displayed my room back in the dhampir dormitories. It looked exactly as I had left it. Or, really it was as Adrian remembered it being when he left it. The sheets on the bed were in disarray, a sight that made a cold tingle dance along my spine. Shame engulfed me. But it wasn't alone for I was soon angry. Whatever emotions were waiting in the wings were halted by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist, a head resting atop mine. Instantly, I froze while being torn between letting myself give in to a savage struggle against Adrian and fighting to maintain a semblance of control over myself. It didn't help that something about this stirred that horrible, iron coil inside me that drew in Lissa's darkness to save her from the side effects of spirit.

Adrian didn't even get a word in before I was prying his loose hands off. "Don't touch me right now, Adrian." I took several steps forward and didn't even care that it put me closer to the bed that was causing my insides to shrivel.

"Little dhampir, what's wrong?" He sounded genuinely hurt. Apparently having had the, and I quote "best not-sex ever" with him must have solidified in his mind our relationship. I almost felt guilty about already trying to undermine it, but I couldn't let him touch me for reasons I couldn't clearly articulate even to myself.

"Is that really a question?" I asked, fisting my hands at my sides. "I could be walking to my death in the next twenty-four hours for all you know and you're asking me what could possibly be wrong." I turned enough to give him a flat countenance. "Can anyone possibly imagine what _might _be wrong?"

While I thought he had sounded hurt before, he looked the part perfectly. With unwavering devotion glimmering in his bright jade eyes, he extended his arms slightly in invitation. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

I felt the fragmentation of myself as I looked at his offering of an embrace. I wanted to feel something tangible—someone who would give me a minute to try and assemble the jagged pieces of my current consciousness. And yet some defiant streak in me controlled my impulse. It was a truly infuriating experience that I swallowed as if swallowing a handful of glass, fighting to get every inch of excruciating progress done and over with. In addition to that, I was shoving down anger because it wouldn't help anyone. Not me. Not Lissa. No one.

A long sigh passed through my lips. Then, I took a seat on the edge of the bed. "No, no, don't apologize," I told him in a reasonably calm voice. "I'm just being stupid right now."

Adrian came forward and knelt before me, placing his hands on mine. "Rose, I know this is tough. Quite frankly it's probably beyond tough. But you have me right here." His hands gave a little squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. You should know that by now." His lovely lips curled into an encouraging smile. It was strange to see him act so sincere right off the bat instead of start with his characteristically flippant attitude. I guess that's what happens when the situation becomes one of life or death.

I cracked a smile for him. "I think I would know that best of all. I couldn't get rid of you even if I wanted to."

"Well, I suppose I should be relieved to hear that," he said with a touch of his traditional attitude peeking through once again. He returned my smile with ease, obviously taking instantly to any signs of his dear "little dhampir."

"Maybe. Take it however you want," I told him, unsure if I wanted to move my hands or not. His hadn't moved and continued to cover mine. They were soft, unblemished and showed no signs of ever seeing much physical labor. They were the hands of a Moroi and of someone who never had to work. They weren't the calloused hands of a guardian, I mused.

They weren't Dimitri's hands.

I could feel my mood darken immediately as if whatever light had been glimmering within me had suddenly met its demise. Could I ever keep my thoughts from turning back to him? Right now, thoughts of him only inspired painful memories and, dare I say it, equally painful hope. I could only be thankful that Adrian seemed oblivious to it which meant I wasn't allowing my feelings to surface completely. Glad to know I could control something in light of Tatiana's murder.

Adrian looked up at me through his lashes. He looked to me as if he were contemplating what to say next, which was a little strange coming from one of the most spontaneous people I knew.

"Adrian," I said, amazing myself with the firmness of my tone, "can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he replied instantly.

Something inside of me twitched with how natural his response had been. I nearly forgot what I was going to ask of him. It had been usurped by a question concerning his readiness to answer any question thrown at him. The current circumstances may have played a role in that, but I couldn't help but wonder what I could have ever done to deserve something like this. It almost reminded me, with sickening repercussions, of Dimitri all but throwing himself prostrate before his savior, Lissa. He had pledged to her a vow of being willing to serve her for the rest of his life as a dhampir. I had to mentally throttle myself for even daring to compare the two. I needed to stop thinking about Dimitri since right now; it was Adrian before me. Not Dimitri and Dimitri may never be infront of me like this ever again.

"Can you just tell me how things are?" I asked, squeezing the words out before other thoughts invaded.

His expression turned confused. "What do you mean?"

"What people are saying, what they're doing—everything. I want to know how it really is right now—how my chances of getting out of this alive really stand," I clarified, suppressing a biting tone climbing its way up my throat. And maybe a little bit of desperation hitchhiking its way along with it.

Adrian's hands fell away from my motionless ones and he sat back on the floor. He propped up a leg and almost appeared at ease with an arm resting atop his knee. Running his other hand through his ruffled chestnut tresses—it looked like he hadn't bothered sprucing himself up much for this rendezvous—he gave me the impression of picking what to tell me first. Or if he was even going to comply at all, but I knew he would. That's just how Adrian was.

"The Council's meeting tomorrow to decided where to go next—"

"You mean when they're going to schedule my trial?"

He nodded and I felt my stomach furl and harden. I didn't have to prompt him because he then said, "And while they're fooling around with that, we're dealing with a crisis on our hand that I don't think even making a quick judgment on is going to solve. People are divided between those who just want some piece of mind no matter what the cost and those who refuse to believe Rose Hathaway would really be the one to kill the queen, whatever you've said and done before aside."

I was already frowning before I was aware of it. That wasn't exactly unexpected. It was pretty nice to hear that people other than my friends were taking my side. Hell, maybe I even had Hans, the hardass guardian who had tortured me with menial labor and desk work. We had fought together valiantly in the raid on the warehouse that had brought Dimitri back from the realm of the undead. Maybe I had enough points from him because of it that.

"From what Mikhail told me, they're probably going to try going through all of this as fast as possible," I snorted. "Apparently the higher ups seem to think giving the Moroi anyone likely of even so much as holding a grudge against Tatiana is more important that finding out who _really_ did it." I couldn't sit any longer and got to my feet, taking in a deep breath as I felt anger seeping into my every thought. "What bullshit. Complete and utter _bullshit._"

Adrian was climbing to his feet in a flash, grabbing my hand as he did so. On instinct, I jerked back several feet. But that didn't seem to affect him very much. Not that I was really looking at the moment to find out.

"We _all_ know this is a load of bullshit," Adrian said. "Anyone with a brain could figure out this was way too easy to pin on you. It's too obvious."

"Well, apparently the Moroi like things simple," I returned tersely. The urge to connect a fist with something solid was welling up inside of me.

He sighed, a long, drawn out inhale followed by an equally long exhale. It was clear I wasn't the only one getting exacerbated by all of this. "It looks that way, doesn't it? But we'll make it work. None of us are even remotely ready to let them even think about executing you. Not when we all know you so well."

My irritation was curbed by the sincerity of his voice. It was even mirrored in his eyes, strong and unwavering. He believed in me. Unlike me with my waffling opinions, he seemed certain that no harm would come to me.

"Adrian…"

"You heard me," he said adamantly. "_Nothing_ is going to happen."

It was impeccably nice to hear that. And honestly, I wanted to believe it just as much. In fact, I thought I was going to be buying into this more easily than I should have.

I was unwilling to fill the silence for several long moments. Then, I walked right up to him and went for what I had been refusing this entire time: bodily contact. I let myself to step into the circle in his arms. He returned it without a drop of hesitation, and his grip was wonderfully firm. Lying in a cell by myself all day made me really and truly appreciate this experience—dream or not. It felt real and concrete, a real sign of someone being on my side. I knew there were more, but I felt through his embrace his permanent stance on this matter.

He wouldn't dream of leaving me at the mercy of some unknown faction at work here.

"Thank you," I mumbled quietly, unsure I could risk speaking any louder. "Thank you so much."

"No need to thank me," Adrian said, rubbing my back lightly. "With us and your Al Capone of a father around, you'll be free as a bird before you know it."

It was me who broke the embrace and I did it with a smile. I stepped back to have one of his hands ghost down the side of my face. It continued down to my neck, pausing to where I knew he had bitten me. I didn't know how I felt about it now, but he seemed almost…proud? Since I had no will to dive into anything else right now, I let it slide.

Adrian went on to describing the status of the rest of our friends. He also informed me that they—they being Lissa and Christian—were meeting up first thing in the morning. After that, there was little more to be said between us. I think he was realizing that I was only accepting so much comfort at the moment because he rarely tried to offer it. He must have realized our hug was akin to a fluke. Eventually, he allowed me to return to a dreamless night. At least, that happened after he promised that he was going to find some way to get either himself or Lissa down to see me in person. I was praying more for Lissa to come see me rather than him. Unlike Adrian, Lissa didn't have a knack for waltzing in on the dreams of others and I was craving some time with my best friend. After all, I had ignored her completely until after I had been arrested.

I awoke in my cell to some minimal motion outside the bars of my cage. A guard had apparently decided it was time to feed the prisoner. I wasn't looking, but I could hear the scraping of it across the floor and the creaking of the door.

"Hey, wake up, Rose. Got some food here for you."

Before my mind could even full process being awake, I was sitting straight up and looking at Mikhai Tannerl. A wispy form of joy settled upon me. Strangely enough, out of everyone I knew, he could probably relate to me the most right now. Or, at least we had. We had shared a connection while Dimitri had been a Strigoi. But even with Dimitri back as a dhampir, I think that connection had grown even stronger. After all, what more hope could I have given him? He had taken a chance with me to see if there truly was a way to restore a Strigoi, and I had proven that theory correct. Now in the event he came across the woman he had lost to madness who had turned Strigoi because of it, there was a potential method to bringing her back.

"Mikhail!" I exclaimed and scrambled to the bars. "It's really nice to see you."

"I would say the same thing if you weren't behind bars," he told me in a tone much quieter than the one I had used. Nonetheless, he had a point.

I nodded and took in the sight of my guards. Apparently they had cycled out while I had been sleeping because I was back to a familiar bunch from before. "Do you think there's any way I could get some nicer guards? I think my cell walls are more entertaining than all of them combined."

Mikhail's lips twitched into a vague smile and he shook his head. "I doubt it. And that's speaking from aside the fact that I have absolutely no control over who's watching you."

"I tried," I said with a sigh. "Just curious, but do you know if I'm allowed visitors? Or do they think I'm going stake them, too?"

He didn't look too amused with my careless reference to the queen's death. Unable to take it back, I settled with making a mental note to watch what I said. Even when I had a fairly good idea that most people didn't believe any of this, I really wouldn't be helping myself if I started tossing out brash statements like that.

"I'm not sure, but I can ask if you want," he offered.

"That'd be nice. Thanks."

"Do you want me to see if I can get anyone specifically?" he asked.

I was instantly reminded of Dimitri's single request when he had been locked up in this very cell: see Lissa and Lissa only. Not Rose. Not the girl who had gone around the world and back again to chase a myth in hopes of rescuing his soul. Because of that, I had the idea of asking for him just to see if he would respond. But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to allowing hope to flourish. If he wanted to come, he would. If that expression of fierce devotion had been genuine back then in the courtroom, he would come on his own accord, I decided.

"If you could get Lissa down here, that'd be great," I told him.

He nodded, but was soon to leave me. I then set myself to attempting to eat the meager meal they had given me. It consisted of nothing gourmet, obviously, but it all looked edible. There was some sort of round bread with some butter, a glass of water and an apple. It really didn't matter what they fed me with though because I wasn't hungry. And when I tried to get something in my system, I couldn't get past a few bites. I didn't want to waste it, but I doubted they would let me keep it. I will say I put up an effort, but they were taking away the tray when they realized sometime later that I wasn't going to finish it anytime soon.

I spent quite some time lying on the bed before I realized Lissa had woken up. Alone with nothing better to do, I opened myself to her. The sight of seeing something other than my cell walls was stupendous from the moment I had acclimated myself to being within her mind. Not that the dream with Adrian hadn't been nice, but nothing quite beat seeing the real thing. Or, at least seeing it through someone else's eyes. But while I saw the outside world, I also felt Lissa's burning emotions. To call her worried would be an understatement, but I couldn't think of a word that could quite describe the depth of her anxiety. Luckily for her, she had Christian beside her, her hand coiled tightly around his.

Adrian sat across from them, and from what I could tell they were in a private, humbly decorated lounge somewhere. Not like it really mattered. What mattered to me was that they were all sitting in a tense silence, afraid to speak or move.

It was Lissa who broke the silence, her eyes all for Adrian. "How was Rose? Was she okay?"

Adrian nodded placidly. "Yeah, she seemed okay to me. Don't worry too much about her."

I heard Christian snort from beside Lissa. "If she was anything but okay then we would really have something to be worried about."

"Christian."

That one word had enough emotion backing into that Christian was promptly apologizing. Adrian had still been vaguely amused by it, reaching for a glass sitting on a table situated in between the leather chair he sat in and the couch Lissa and Christian were occupying. Somehow realizing that he was already drinking at this hour irritated me. Could he hold off the alcohol for once? I understood it was the deal with the side effects of spirit and probably also a way to cope with his great-aunt's death, but still. Knowing that didn't change how I felt about it much, but at least he wasn't smoking.

"But really, she seemed alright to me," Adrian insisted, replacing his glass on the table. "You can probably go see for yourself if you really wanted to."

In his tone, I knew he what he was implying. He was advocating the usage of spirit. I wasn't blaming him, but I really didn't want Lissa wearing herself out just to see me. Or maybe, if I was lucky, he was thinking more along the lines of her utilizing her position as the last Dragomir, but I really doubted I could be that lucky. And that was aside from the fact that Lissa was already contemplating such a tactic.

A moment of silence fell between them. Once again, it was Lissa who broke it first.

"I just don't know what to do," she mumbled quietly, squeezing Christian's hand all the tighter. "How do we help her?"

"We get to the bottom of this; that's how," Christian said. He laid his other hand on top of hers. So firm and comforting. Lissa needed him beside her so badly right now it was like there was an ache within her that only subsided when he was beside her. In that moment, I got a glimpse of her memories of previous night. In the midst of all her anxiety-induced insomnia, Christian had come in and soothed her enough that she had finally gotten some sleep. He had held her all night, something she was extremely grateful for. Especially given the only recent reconstruction of their relationship.

"Abe's already on the case. For all we know, he could be busting this thing wide open as we speak," Adrian commented lightly, slouching back in his chair.

Lissa's eyes fell to staring holes into her knees. "I hope so. If anything happens to Rose—"

"Which of course nothing will," Christian interjected. "And you know what? If all else fails, I bet we can just bust her out."

In an instant, Lissa was looking to Adrian, guilt sweeping through her. And along with that, a spike of fear pierced her being. The events in Alaska were far from forgotten as well as the fact that we had subsequently lost Victor. Now, the man who had hurt her so much was one the loose, free to scheme and plot as he pleased. With that thought floating in her head, she had a momentary moment of panic where she wondering if Victor was behind it all. But, like me, she convinced herself otherwise and I could start breathing easier. Somewhat. She still had her suspicions and no matter how much I tried to mentally convey my logic about it, she couldn't hear it.

"That would almost be easier than waiting for all of this trial mess," Adrian remarked, tilting his head to one side. He shared a look with Lissa that she knew insinuate some joke about how she was already well acquainted with the concept of a prison break.

"We can't do that," Lissa stated firmly. Glancing nervously at Christian, she then said in a quiet voice, "Not yet anyway. We have to give her a chance. And plus, it's not like anyone actually believes she would do something like this."

"You'd be surprised what some Royals are willing to believe," Christian said dryly. More than likely he was referring to how most Moroi, even those who had gone to school with us, were cautious about Christian. Half time it seemed like they were expecting him to turn Strigoi just like his parents. Of course, all of us who really knew him knew otherwise.

They discussed things a little more, but I was a little distracted by something else. Lissa's concern was beginning to carry along with it a dark quality I didn't like. Some part of her demanded to know who had done this, no matter what the cost. It was an angry, dark thought that promised something sinister to whomever had really done this and had had the audacity to pin it on me. I didn't have to think about it much more before I was extracting it from her and taking the darkness into myself. It seeped into that growing mass inside of me that preyed on my anger and turned it into unbridled, unreasonable range. Right now, it just made me feel overly frustrated. Better me than her though, I told myself.

"Do you think she's listening to us?"

Lissa looked up at Christian, meeting his intense ice blue eyes. "Rose?"

"Yeah."

"It's possible. I told her about it," Adrian informed them, folding his hands over his abdomen and sliding even further down into his seat.

_Rose, if you're there, and I hope you are, please hang in there. We'll get you out of this. Trust me. We'll do whatever it takes._

I trusted Lissa. I trusted her with everything. After having kept several things in my life secret from her such as my relationship with Dimitri, there would be no more lies or barriers between us and I planned on sticking to that.

There was a knock from resounding somewhere from behind Lissa. Lissa freed her hands from Christian's and stood up, looking between him and Adrian. They both shrugged, clueless. Equally without a clue, Lissa walked across the small room and opened the door. She stopped in her tracks, her breath hitching out of pure surprise. My own shock shot through my body like a jolt of electricity. My heart nearly it didn't do that., it did plummet down through the floor of my cell and beyond into oblivion.

It was Dimitri.


	3. Chapter Three

Oh wow. Believe it or not, I've actually gotten some ideas for this. :P I don't think anyone's going to complain about that actually. I know I wouldn't be. I have a couple of things mapped out...but...I'm still leaving that option open to readers for them to write me their ides in a review or whatever. Inspiration comes in many forms~

Anyway, I really want to give a BIG shoutout to everyone who was reviewd and favorited/added this to their alert list. I really do. :) Seeing all those little emails I get notifying me about them is just the best thing to see. So, I really hope to keep seeing those and encourage everyone who's been reading this to give me their opinion or anything.

Disclaimer: I have yet to own anything and I really doubt that's ever going to change. Oh shucks! Whatever shall I do?

* * *

I was torn between the urge to pull out of Lissa's head and actually sticking around to see what would happen next. Really, my reason for fleeing was the silly notion that I could continue preserving some semblance of hope by refusing to wait it out and witness the dreaded truth. As nice as that sounded (at least for my fragile optimism), I couldn't bring myself to stooping so low as to run away from my problems. I also decided I wouldn't be like him or give him the benefit of having pushed me away. I was a big girl. I could handle reality. Or at least I sincerely hoped so and was sure as hell going to try.

"Oh! Dimitri!" Lissa exclaimed. In her mind, the appearance of Dimitri was completely unexpected. Obviously, she had no idea what it could have meant for me that he was here.

Dimitri bowed his head in respect. "Vasilisa."

In the moment before he lowered his head, I had seen that suddenly familiar sight I was beginning to hate. The look on his face had spelled unabashed admiration. No questions there. Ever since she had thrust a stake through his heart and restored him to being a dhampir, a strange emotion seemed to be inspired in him whenever he was around Lissa. There was no other way to describe it except to label it as adoration, borderline worship. I understood the idea of it…yet didn't at the same time. Not in this context anyway because he seemed to be missing one key component when it came to picking who he was going to start humbling himself before.

Not only that, but how could he look at Lissa like that and at me with so much indifference or even disdain?

"Why are you here?" Lissa asked gently. To her, it was absolutely necessary to be careful around him. I almost wanted to call her an idiot for thinking that. This was Dimitri here. Weak and him didn't belong in the same sentence unless there was an "absolutely not" in there somewhere. And that was excluding his tears after being turned back in the warehouse. Who wouldn't have cried in a situation like that?

With Dimitri's head having risen once again, it was hard to miss the mixture of emotions trying to show in his expression. Everything save his eyes was almost perfectly under control. It was only around the eyes you could tell the war he was waging with himself. What I couldn't dare pass up taking into account was the clear determination lying in the melting depths of his brown eyes. It was that same look I had witnessed in the courtroom and still depicted that same "I won't let anyone touch you" attitude. Seeing it made me almost sick with joy because if it was still there, that I hadn't imagined it before.

"Oh wait! Let me guess! It's Rose, isn't it?"

The edges of his eyes pinched, the only sign he let show that Adrian's heavily sarcastic, very bitter comment had any effect on him. As if he never heard Adrian, Dimitri said to Lissa, "I thought that if anyone would be working on a plan, it would be you."

"You weren't wrong there," Lissa told him with a smile and stepped aside. On the inside, her heart was swelling with happiness that he had come on his own for _my_ sake. Unlike her, though, I wasn't ready to jump in and rejoice just yet. "Why don't you come in?"

Dimitri nodded and strode through followed by a trio of guardians. If it was my guess, I would have said that they were dispersing guardians around to cover all valuable Royals, leaving less of a concern on "guarding" Dimitri. Overall it really didn't matter since it was nice enough to see the lessening number of bodies hanging around Dimitri.

Christian, who had apparently followed Lissa to the door, regarded the three dhampirs with a sour expression. "Anyone else besides me see something wrong with this picture?"

Dimitri looked to Christian blankly, his guardian mask on completely. But it wasn't him who answered. Instead, one of the guards piped up looking almost indignant voice.

"We may not know Guardian Hathaway personally," he said, "but anyone of us can tell this is some set up."

Christian didn't look convinced and quite frankly neither was I. Being in Lissa's head, I could feel her immense confusion as if it were my own. Which, well, really I was feeling that, too. Guardians were indoctrinated from the cradle to always put Moroi before themselves. I wasn't quite sure how that applied in this situation, but I would imagine it would generally mean a lack of expressed opinion by guardians all around. It would appear I had been wrong about that. Since it allowed Dimitri to come where Lissa and the others were, I wasn't about to complain about it either.

"Are there a lot of other guardians who think that?" Lissa asked, hope budding within her at the idea that there were far more people on my side than I would have initially imagined.

The guardian shrugged. "A fair amount I would say."

Another one, much older than the other two, added, "Any one of us who have seen Guardian Hathaway fight to protect you, Princess, aren't ready to believe that she would so recklessly kill the queen. It jeopardizes far too much for even her to risk it."

"Despite having called her a sanctimonious bitch," the first one added with a wry grin.

The older one, clearly the superior among the three, shot him a frosty look. In defense, the younger guardian held up his hands in defense. "You know you thought that was pretty good," he teased.

All he received for his antics was the shaking of the older one's graying head. But, there was a noticeable curling of the man's lips that suggested he had indeed found my outburst at the queen rather amusing. Glad to see I had pleased some people with that whole incident.

"At any rate," said the third guardian, the only female among them, "none of us really want to see Guardian Hathaway executed for something she may not have done."

"If there's anything we can do, let us know," the younger male one said with a grin.

With that settled and out of the way, everyone rearranged themselves around the table and surrounding furniture. Dimitri took the other chair while Christian and Lissa reclaimed their couch. The three guardians situated themselves around Dimitri so that should anyone barge in, they would still appear to be watching him like a hawk. Although, not going to lie, I had the distinct impression that they weren't too concerned about Dimitri being Strigoi. They earned more points in my book just for that. Of all things, right now was not the time to be playing with unnecessary technicalities about whether or not Dimitri was really back to being a dhampir.

"Don't get me wrong," Christian began after a while. He glanced at Lissa, letting his gaze linger on her a little longer than normal, "but I'm not sure where we're going to go from here. All we've got working for us is one of the most badass gangsters to walk to Earth. And who knows what he's doing."

"What else are we going to do," Adrian returned, "start nosing around like Sherlock Holmes? Where do we even start? Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I don't think they're going to let us anywhere worthwhile."

Maybe it was just me projecting onto him, but Adrian seemed very testy right now. If had to say so myself, I would have guessed he was seriously itching for a cigarette. Without that, he merely guzzled down the rest of his glass shamelessly.

Was it because of Dimitri? Really, that would make a whole lot of sense since Adrian was probably dying to assert the fact that I had chosen him over Dimitri.

"What about the guards?"

All attention shifted to Dimitri who had spoken. He sat pensively, leaning out over his knees with his head resting on his hands. To me, he appeared absolutely sexy like that. The depth of his expression made me unbelievably happy. Not only was it because of me, but it reminded me so much of his natural brilliance not even being a Strigoi could disrupt. Anyone could count on him to think of something. That's just the way he was. Reliable and well deserving of being called a badass Russian god. Hands down.

Lissa's eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that! They must have seen something!"

"Unless they were bought off," Christian said, his brow furrowing. "You don't think…?"

"Could've been compelled," Adrian said idly, lying back in his chair and staring at the ceiling.

"Any normal Moroi couldn't compel as many guards as probably stand watch around the queen's chambers," Dimitri said, his pensive expression deepening. "They would either have to be a spirit user or someone who can get in close enough to only need to compel guards right outside the room."

"But even then, you would have to be really good with compulsion," Lissa said, her head cocked to the side. "Have you ever run into other spirit uses at Court, Adrian?"

"Of course I have. It's kind of hard to miss them," Adrian replied, looking at Lissa incredulously. Obviously he was referring to the talent spirit users have where they have the ability to see auras. Spirit users also tended to have an aura that stuck out in a crowd like a sore thumb, golden and bright. "I just don't talk to them and they're off wherever before you know it."

"What about right now?" Dimitri asked. Apparently he was choosing to ignore Adrian's snarky comment from before and act civil.

"I don't know. Maybe," Adrian answered, frowning. He reached up and ruffled his hair. "It's not like I've been looking for them. And I'm not the only one who can see auras."

"I don't really walking around looking at auras," Lissa replied, her emotions shifting towards something akin to disappointment in herself. There could be other spirit users floating around Court and she hadn't even been looking to see if there were. As exciting as that sounded, considering their recent theory that could also mean there was a spirit user out there who had assisted in Queen Tatiana's death.

While I wanted dearly to linger around longer to see where this was going to happen, especially with Dimitri so close at hand, I was drawn away by the sound of someone calling my name.

Back in the gloom of my cell, I rolled my head around on my flat pillow to see Mikhail standing at my cell door, smiling. It wasn't much of a smile really, but it was enough to let me know that at least something was about to go my way. For this being my second day in a cell, it was starting to look at least a little better.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I sent someone to get Lissa for you," he told me. "As long as she has an escort, they're letting her come see you."

Oh wow. Really? They were actually letting her see me? To be honest, I had been preparing myself for the bitter taste of disappointment about all this and having to settle with just Abe and dreams with Adrian (though I was about ready to say yet again that I didn't want to see him).

"Thank you so much," I said, trying my best to convey my gratitude. "Will I ever be able to thank you for all the things you've done for me?" The list of things he'd done was slowly growing for me from letting me go when I had been stealing information on Tarasov to even so much as smuggling me, Lissa and Eddie out of Court. And what had I ever done for him in return?

"Rose, you've given me what no one else probably could have," he said with a gentle smile. "You gave me hope."

I couldn't help but frown. While I guessed it was fair to say that much, that didn't change much. By this point, now I was probably worse off than he was in terms of love and hope. His love, Miss Karps, had run off and turned Strigoi to escape the madness of spirit. While that didn't quite sound all that wonderful, he could at least continue to hope for her and their love. For me, I was walking the fine line between emotional annihilation and the kind of hope he had. Between us, and to admit something very serious, I almost wished I hadn't brought Dimitri back. Or, at least not after what he had sad to me at the church.

If he wasn't here, I could still cling more firmly to the idea that he still loved me and that all it would take to bring us back together would be a spirit-infused stake through the heart. Not this. Not this where I didn't know left from right and really should not be spending so much time thinking about something that weighed so little against the possibility of me being sentenced to death.

But, what happened happened and I promptly pushed that unwanted thought aside.

"Mikhail…"

Mikhail shook his head. "It's enough for me to hear what you told me and to see the proof of it for myself." He then took a step back from the bars. "I've got some paperwork to tend to. There's no rest for the wicked around here according to Hans."

I cracked an understanding smile at that one. "Isn't that the truth?"

Mikhail gave a small wave before disappearing down the hall. I was then left with the option of maybe following Lissa's progress here, but I kind of wanted to surprise myself as ironic as that sounded. Really with Lissa it was all but impossible, but that didn't stop me from trying. But, try as I might, I knew where she was from the minute she entered the building and began her decent to the lower floors where the condemned were detained. Along with her, I could hear the thundering footsteps of numerous guards.

I was mightily impressed to see Lissa's entourage of at least four guardians. Combined with the three already in the corridor, the place was becoming quite crowded. It wasn't nearly as bad as when Dimitri had been locked away in this very cell, but apparently they weren't as concerned about an eighteen-year-old as they were about a full grown one man army. Not that I really cared. Lissa was here and that's really all that mattered.

"Rose!" she exclaimed and rushed right up to the bars.

"Lissa!"

I was almost to the bars when the guardians had hands on her shoulders. They drew her back, giving me a dangerous look and making sure Lissa was out of arm's reach.

"She won't hurt me!" Lissa said resentfully to the guardians, just a smidgen of her Court-related air leaking in.

"We can't be sure of that," one of the guardians said. "And orders are orders. You aren't to be within arm's reach of the convicted."

"I would like to make note here that I have yet to be convicted of anything," I said with a raised hand. "Just letting you guys know."

They ignored me and kept strict to their "orders." Eventually giving up, Lissa stood as close as she could without getting urged backwards, though I could she was about ready to let loose some compulsion on the pricks for standing in her way. I really didn't blame her.

"How are you?" Lissa asked. Mentally, she added, _Adrian said you were okay, but I need to hear it from you myself._

"I'm pretty good considering I'm behind bars," I told her, adding as much of my usual charm as I could muster. "What's it like to actually be free?"

Lissa let out a small laugh. "It's not as good as it sounds. Not without you, anyway."

"I'm so glad to hear that you miss me," I said. "I was beginning to feel a little unloved here. You won't believe the guards they've given me. Might just die of boredom." I rolled my eyes for some extra effect.

Lissa wasn't as amused as I thought she'd be. In fact, through the bond I could feel my tactless reference had only made her extremely uneasy. I cursed myself for doing that once again to someone, but really couldn't do much about it.

"You'll be out of here in no time," Lissa told me, trying to convince both of us at the same time. I really had to admire her for that.

"I sure hope so. Prison food isn't all it's cracked up to be," I said jokingly.

This time, the reaction I got from her was more satisfactory. "Only you, Rose; only you," she said with the shaking of her head.

"Of course; who else would somehow be here to begin with?" I asked, shrugging.

"That's true. Only you didn't actually do anything to land yourself here to begin with," she said with a growing frown. In her head, I could tell she was miffed that they had tried to pin on me, of all things, something I hadn't done. They would have done better with pegging that whole incident with Victor on me—or rather us and even Eddie. But no.

"Any idea when they're going to be scheduling my trial?" I asked her. There were really tons of other things I'd rather talk to her about, but with an audience of so many my options were really narrowed down.

Lissa shook her head of flowing gold hair. "I don't know. I think they're supposed to be meeting about in the next day or so."

I nodded slowly, unsure how I felt about hearing that. Lissa was terrified because a date meant a timeframe to prove my innocence that should have already been obvious from the get-go. Somewhere inside me, I was everything the word terrified entailed. I guess I just didn't want to let it get to me so it didn't really feel like I was afraid. Or maybe I was actually putting my trust in my so-called team. Maybe I was just tired of this already. Who knows?

For a change of subject, I began asking her about things I pretty much already knew about. I asked about Christian and Adrian. Naturally, her talk of Christian included the implied and sensed feeling that she felt just about complete with having him around once again. For that, I was extremely happy. As for Adrian…that was another story. I almost felt I should not have brought him up for with him came an assortment of unpleasant feelings. Guilt. Shame. Disgust. But not with him. I was disgusted more with myself and with my incompetence when it came to him. Here I was having painstakingly told him and myself I was choosing him over Dimitri and already mentally backtracking.

One arrest had flipped the tables completely in my head. Now, I didn't want to compromise the potential rekindling of my relationship with Dimitri. The love was there; God knew it was. At least for me, it was there. It was there and I didn't think it was ever going to leave me. Ever. And here I had the glimmer of hope being resurrected before my very eyes. Or, at least I thought it was. What was I supposed to do? Ignore it?

No.

I couldn't do that. Not even for Adrian's sake.

Just when I was thinking Lissa was going to bring up Dimitri, Abe came strolling down the hall as if he owned the place. He probably could if he was really trying, but that really wouldn't be of much use right now. It was actually kind of strange to see him strolling towards my cell free of any sort of guard daring to follow him. Either being my legal (as ironic as that sounded when being applied to Abe) council or something about his personality seemed to make him exempt from the extra bodies seemingly required for the safety of others. Not that he really needed protection. With him, the case was more than likely a matter of people needing protection from _him_ and not the other way around_._

"Princess," Abe greeted with the bowing of his head, a respectful smile on his face. It really didn't seem to belong there.

"Mr. Mazur!" Lissa exclaimed, quick to return the gesture. "What brings you here?"

"Well, being this troublemaker's laywer does have its perks," Abe said offhandedly. He raised a hand to wave it about at everything around us. "For example, I get to come in here and have the time of my life."

_Oh wow. I see the relationship,_ Lissa communicated to me with amused eyebrows inching up her eloquent forehead.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, old man. We all know you're just dying to see me right now."

"Naturally," he said, wriggling his eyebrows a bit.

A lightbulb went off in Lissa's head and I barely had time to catch the idea before the beginnings of it were rolling off her tongue. "Mr. Mazur, can I talk to you?"

"Oh?" he asked. He looked between us and it was as if I could see the cogs turning in his head. "Let's go somewhere private and we'll see what we can do." He turned away from the bars and held out his elbow like as if he were quite the gentleman. "Shall we?"

My jaw just about fell unhinged. I had to swallow the string of foul things shooting up my throat. And it wasn't like I had a reason for acting like that. While Abe could be quite the…well, we'll just put it out there already and call him a womanizer. Or, at least that's what it seemed like after his bantering about my mother and just about any other female at my graduation party. And that was baring the particularly interesting interaction he had had with the judge at my hearing.

I wasn't trying to say he'd try anything around Lissa. No, he wasn't like that. He was too badass to be a pedophile. That aside, I could at least safely say I didn't particularly take to them leaving me to my own devices. On the other hand, Lissa had her reasons and I could see those very well. To that end, I was easily pacified and took to seeing the world through her eyes.

And right then that world involved her hopes being invested in my deranged father. Her request was simple and his interest had been instantly piqued from the minute she asked, "Can you get me to see the guards who had been on duty at the time of Queen Tatiana's murder?"

Sitting outside on a bench pretty far from any imminent danger of being eavesdropped on, Abe crossed his legs. "That's quite the tall order there." He grinned that mysterious smile of his, a mischievous glint appearing in his dark eyes. "But, it would so happen that I've already gotten that arranged."

"Oh, really?" Lissa asked, grasping the edge of the bench tightly with her hands. "When?"

"Oh, soon enough. Believe me," Abe said with a nod. "Believe me. May I ask what you have in store for our little friends?" He really didn't make "little friends" sound as endearing as one would have imagined. It was more along the lines of suggesting he already had a googolplex number of sinister plans stored in his complex mind concerning our "little friends."

Lissa judged whether or not to relate all of her plans to Abe. She decided to have some confidence in him knowing that I had chosen him over the reputable Damon Tarus. Between them I almost wondered which on had more of a shady record to boast. Probably good ol' Ibrahim Mazur.

"I'd like to be able to see if they had compulsion used on them at the time of the murder," Lissa explained.

"And how would you know?" Abe asked. Somehow, I had a hunch he of all people would know since he was pretty much an oracle incarnate.

Lissa hesitated for a moment, but then just came out with it.

"I can compel them into telling me," she answered. "Or I can at least try to."

The gears where whirling faster, a pleased expression taking hold of Abe's face.

"I like the way you think, Princess," he declared, patting Lissa on the head.


	4. Chapter Four

Oh wow. I do apologize for the extended absence on my part. Life just kind of gets in the way of getting anything does, doesn't it? It almost seems silly for me to even be writing more since the book itself comes out relatively soon, but a girl's got to do something to keep herself occupied as she waits in suspence for _Last Sacrifice_. I really do hope that the break between when I last wrote and when I picked this back up didn't impact the style of it too much. If anyone's curious, I made some minor adjustments to the previous chapter, but it's probably nothing to lose sleep over.

Once again, the floor is open to suggestions and all that jazz. :) So do please enjoy and leave a review for such things are much appreciated (naturally) and are a very good motivation for further updates. Also, letting me know of any inconsistencies would also be much appreciated.

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Abe had come back down to my dreary place of captivity once he had finished his discussion with Lissa. Not that he really needed to tell me anything since I had heard everything already through Lissa. He did it all the same though, skillfully keeping clear of deliberately discussing the new "weapon" at his disposal for interrogational purposes. Between us though, it was fairly obvious that he was pleased by the unexpected event of Lissa offering to assist us in any way necessary to figure out the real plot going on here. I wasn't too pleased really about her being so ready to compel the living daylights out of people, but I knew there was no way to stop her with bars and a handful of guards standing in the way.

You would think Dimitri of all people, moral buff as he was, would instantly be opposing the abuse of spirit. Apparently me being behind bars and a dead Moroi queen were enough to stifle any ethical dilemmas about it.

Speaking of Dimitri…

I really wasn't taking too well with how my mind kept going in circles that started and ended with him. No amount of thinking seemed to make me feel completely satisfied. And that was putting aside the real need within me to see him do something—_anything_ to make me believe we still stood a chance. I needed to see him and—if it was humanly possible—actually talk to him. I needed answers regardless of the possibility that I might wind up in the same emotional state as before. It had only been a day and I already couldn't stand this whole half doubt, half hope state of mind. Being so alone wasn't helping. Being alone left me with nothing but myself and my tormenting thoughts.

And I really wondered why I was even bothering with it. Maybe what had happened at the café was a momentary lapse from post-Strigoi Dimitri to pre-Strigoi Dimitri because of the imminent danger. Maybe I had imagined that glorious moment when I had felt the stirrings of that old electricity permeating the air between Dimitri and I at the point during the fight where I had resigned myself to my fate. Maybe I was being too hopeful and partially delusional, willing to project my feelings for the sake of pitiful hope. Most of all, maybe, just maybe I was going to die so it wouldn't matter either way.

The pessimism was fairly detrimental to my state of mind, but I couldn't conjure up enough happy thoughts since I appeared to be quite short of those as of it. If they, whoever it was, really wanted me dead, what was going to stop them? If it was enough members on the Moroi council or whatever who were backing this plot, I could just throw in the towel now and submit my request for a painless, private execution. Only problem was, I couldn't do that. I couldn't just lie down and die because that's just not who I am. I couldn't possibly let some Moroi political shitstorm take down Rose Hathaway. Oh hell no. If they were going to be attempting that sort of thing, I would most definitely not go down without the worst fight to ever be seen by Court—verbal or physical.

"I need to get some air," I said to myself quietly, rolling onto my side despite how uncomfortable the floor was to begin with. Louder, I asked the guards, "Is a change of scenery out of the question?"

I really didn't expect any of them to answer. After all, they seemed to be relatively content with standing still a statues and disregarding my existence completely. To my surprise _and_ relief, one of them replied.

"I doubt it," he said, sounds of shifting coming from the nameless guard's direction.

"Damn it," I muttered, slapping the ground with a flimsy arm. It hurt, but not enough that I cared. Suddenly being overcome by my traditionally snarky nature, I decided to speak up again. "And if I go crazy before this trail of mine, which is by the way a real waste of time if you asked me, goes down, what happens?"

"Beats me. It'd be a first," the guard replied tersely. Whether he was amused or not, I couldn't tell.

"Lucky me," I said bitterly. "You'd really think it wouldn't be that big of a deal to let a girl get some sunshine or something. I'm not exactly hard to take down."

"Says your high body count—"

"—of Strigoi," I finished before he could continue. "And just so you know, that really has no relevance here, but thanks for trying."

He was silent for a moment after that. I turned my head to look at him. He was middle age from the looks of things with a head of buzzed dark hair and a solemn face. Now that I thought about it, I was pretty sure I had heard his name sometime beforehand. It was something like Guardian Duncan or something like that. At any rate, I caught his eye for a moment and wondered what he, or really any of the guards, thought of this. Sure, some really seemed to be going with the scapegoat ploy hanging over my head, but after hearing from the Dimitri's guards that not all guardians thought that way, I was getting curious. Of course, I didn't think it was in my best interest to start questioning my guards, but it was something new to think about.

No real conversation took place after that. They did feed me though. And since I hadn't really taken to eating most of the day, I gobbled down my meager rations and sent them back a clean plate. Afterwards I might have felt a little queasy, but at least I didn't feel quite so hollow inside. I moved back to my bed eventually and tried to sleep, but that really wasn't working out too well. The problem was, I wasn't really tired. And even when I got tired, I just didn't sleep. I laid there on my hard mattress wondering what Dimitri must have been thinking while lying in this same bed no so long ago. Unfortunately, all I could think of as possible candidates were the unpleasant reminders of Strigoi Dimitri.

I cringed as the thought crossed my mind. The memories of his time as a Strigoi were probably beyond words. Language couldn't convey the torment of his revived soul weighed down so heavily by the memory of ever man, woman and child he had ruthlessly murdered. When I put it like that in my own head, my insides grew cold and hardened to the point they ached—my heart especially. I realized I could try to put into perspective what had happened, but part of me refused to accept that completely as the reason behind his rejection of what had been the best thing to ever happen to me: our love. I couldn't accept it because I still believed in him and the endless strength I knew he had. I knew he could conquer everything. Or, at least I believed he could. He had the strength in him to do anything so long as he put his mind to it.

Another reason I wasn't dozing off for quite some time fell into almost the same category as Dimitri: Adrian.

Right now, I didn't want to so much as think about him. Or Dimitri either. Not that wanting to avoid thoughts of either of them was really working, because it wasn't. I tried relentlessly to convince myself that where I stood in all of this was neither defined nor important at the moment. But it wasn't like I could think of much else. By this point I had gotten so confused with conspiracy theories that I didn't know left from right or where one idea stopped and another began. So at least with my love problems there were two known sources of conflict. One small relief I guess.

At some point I fell asleep without realizing it. Luckily, I got to skip out on seeing Adrian. When I woke up, I nibbled away at my breakfast before sitting on the floor with my back leaning against the bed. Once I could tell through Lissa's excitement that something was going down, I left my cell all too eagerly.

Lissa was anxiously pacing outside a rather plain door. At least, it was plain considering the other ostentatious décor known to deck the walls of pretty much every building at Court. That being said, I felt it safe to assume she was somewhere further away from the more prestigious areas inhabited by Royals. Given that there were several stoic Guardians standing around, I felt her safety was pretty much insured. Not that I would really bet on anything happening to Lissa with Zmey around.

Lissa's nerves were working into overdrive as she waited for Abe to take her inside to where the interrogation would take place. From where she was standing, she could hear nothing coming from the other side. The guardian—presumably one on Abe's payroll—standing by the door appeared to about a sociable as those guarding my cell. Lissa fought the urge to ask him what was going on inside the room; she'd already been standing there for approximately twenty minutes. Abe had offered for her to sit in a quaint room across the hall where she could sit, but she had opted for pacing the length of the hall instead. She had too much energy bubbling in her veins to withstand sitting.

Feeling the frantic depths of her anxiety, I allowed for it to seep into my own psyche. They weren't welcomed feelings, but it was the least I could do within my power. Stress and anxiety really didn't mix well with Lissa and her spirit powers. I knew that far too well given all our prior experiences where emotional turmoil found a physical outlet—cutting. The habit had died, thankfully, but Lissa's emotions still grew to unstable proportions at times. Being connected to her, I took it onto myself to take away the darkness as it threatened to grow within her. It wasn't healthy for me considering how it had led me down a warpath once before with the intent of murdering a Moroi student, but I was fairly confident in my ability to control myself. And this was putting aside the fact that there were enough guards outside my cell to put me out of commission pretty fast.

At any rate, apparently my actions piqued Lissa's attention. Lissa's endless pacing paused and she turned her head as if I would appear right behind her, a bittersweet feeling coating her thoughts.

_Are you there, Rose?_

My inability to respond became a momentary source of ire for me. Though for the most part I wished our bond would stay the way it was, at times I wanted the one-way connection to be a two-way one instead.

_I hope you aren't mad at me for doing this_, Lissa whispered quietly, guilt contorting her insides. It was another reminder from within herself that she had to stay strong for me that caused the guilt to ebb away. _I'm doing this for you. You always do things for me and protect me. Now it's my turn to do what I can._

I wanted to hug her and scold her at the same time. Spirit's effect on the user's mental state meant that she was putting herself at risk. I couldn't be happy about that even if it was for me.

Suddenly, the door at her back opened. A second Guardian's head poked out of the room. The two exchanged brief words before the one standing at the door waved for Lissa to enter. Lissa's insides jolted and she was nervous since she had no idea what to expect out of this. She passed through the open doorway quickly; the door shut behind her. The interior of the room resembled the hall in the lack of outrageous designing. A pair of dark leather couches sat on two adjacent sides of a long, low glass table. On couch one sat a pair of the Royal Guard; Abe sat on the other and looked quite comfortable indeed. His posture was relaxed, his legs crossed and his hands neatly folded atop his knees. Abe's two guards stood in positions advantageous to apprehending anyone so much as looking at Abe the wrong way.

Taking a quick note of the fact that all occupants of the room were staring at her, Lissa took minor comfort in the brief smirk Abe threw in her direction. However, in comparison to the substantial amount of anxiety sending little tremors through her body, Abe's attempt at easing her did little.

"How kind of you to join us, Princess," Abe said, patting the cushion next to him. "Grab a seat and we'll get this show on the road."

Lissa nearly felt she was going to fall over nothing as she passed before the Royal Guards to sit by Abe. As she walked, she let her eyes drift towards the two. They regarded her with that schooled look all guardians have and nodded respectfully, but there was something to their expressions that I noticed while Lissa didn't. Both of them had a sort of tension hanging around their eyes that pinched the corners. It was clear that neither of them trusted Abe. It wasn't that surprising. If I were them I wouldn't have even let myself get into this situation unless he busted my kneecaps and had someone drag me.

Once Lissa was sitting she felt slightly relieved. Naturally, she knew full well that no harm could ever come to her. Not when Zmey was around, the man I had chosen as my advocate over Damon Tarus. Though between the two, Abe was by far the shadier of the two, I had the genetics on my side to win all my close friends his unwavering protection.

Abe absentmindedly introduced Lissa to the two guards, but their names fell on deaf ears. Lissa's heart was pounding in her ears. She looked at the two and felt fear and excitement well up inside of her. Here was hope. These two men could hold the key to clearing my name. The prospect sent shudders through her again and again. She wondered if she could do this. Could she compel them into telling her the truth? Did she have it in her? She surely hoped so. In a bittersweet way, I did, too.

It was Abe's voice that suddenly shook her from her thoughts.

"Whenever you're ready, Princess."

Lissa glanced at Abe. He nodded, a vague smile over his features. She turned her attention to the guards.

The bigger of the two raised his hand, leaning out over his knees. "No funny business, hear me?"

It took Lissa a moment to comprehend his words, but she was shaking her head frantically instantly. "Nothing like that. We just…"

"We need to get our facts straight, if you know what I mean," Abe continued lightly. "It's a shame to imagine that the Queen's guards had a glitch in their system."

The man's jaw tightened. "There was no such thing."

"If that was true, we wouldn't be here right now," Abe said flatly with a dismissive hand. "Just let the Princess here do her job and we'll go from there."

The men decided who was going to go first, the other being escorted into the next room by one of Abe's guards. However, before the other left completely, Lissa spoke up suddenly, remembering her conversation with Dimitri's guards.

"Do you two really think Rose—I mean Guardian Hathaway did it?" she asked quickly, the words nearly catching in her tight throat.

The guards looked at one another in a way that made Lissa's stomach drop. Clearly their opinions were slanted, a black mark staining my name in their eyes. The one leaving regarded Lissa with a very solid, almost remorseful stare, his lips making an effort to smile and failing miserably.

"I'm sorry, Princess."

With a subtle nod, he left. Lissa took in a shuddering breath once it was just the three of them (Abe's guards aside), gripping her knees with hands bleached white. So they thought I was guilty, did they? The idea didn't sit well with Lissa at all. Her resolve rose within her, a burning desire to prove them or anyone else who thought ill of me wrong. She regarded the man who had spoken up, giving him her full attention. He stared back into her eyes with conviction burning in them, but at the same time he was apprehensive. He feared her power. Both of us could tell that much.

"Whenever you're ready," Abe said as though to remove any doubt from Lissa's mind. "These guys know what they've signed up for."

And then, Lissa reached into that wonderful essence of spirit inside of her. It surged and filled her with all sorts of wonderful feelings. She forgot to worry about me, about the morality of the situation. The world was purely a better place once she had the power flowing through her. With this sort of ability, she nearly felt invincible. Nothing could stop her. She focused that into the man's eyes, into implementing her will onto others.

"You will answer any question I ask truthfully," Lissa stated, her tone absolute and surprisingly steady. "Nod to say that you will do this."

She could tell he was fighting her. It took him a little longer than anticipated to do as instructed. Naturally, the Queen's guards were trained rigorously in the art of resisting compulsion. However, spirit users were unmatched in their abilities when it came to compulsion. Therefore, it only too a little more effort on Lissa's part for her to get the man to do as she wished. Nonetheless, the man's eyes unfocused, his face acquiring that almost lost expression you get when being compelled. It spread, loosening his muscles so that I half expected his mouth to fall open and drool to trickle from the corner. The expression seemed very inappropriate given his already serious countenance. It was as though someone had hit him between the eyes with a ton of bricks and he was too dazed to figure out left from right.

Abe's voice at her ear almost startled her.

"Tell him to answer anything either of us ask. We can't miss a thing," he said quietly, prudence evident in his tone.

"You will nod and tell me you're going to answer any questions either of us ask," Lissa relayed.

He nodded. "I'll answer anything you ask, Princess."

"Tell me when you were guarding the Queen's chamber," Lissa commanded.

"From the moment she went in," he responded.

"What time was that?"

"Not long after six."

"Were you alone, Guardian Syerov?" Abe asked.

"No. Guardian Schroeder was with me along with other guards stationed around the premises." Lissa took that as being the guardian next to him.

"The entire time?" Abe prompted.

Lissa almost lost her concentration when she watched something unbelievable happen before her very eyes. Guardian Syerov's eyes dilated and shrunk, a crease forming between his dark brows. The more Lissa focused, the more his confusion alleviated, as though she had helped him make a decision about what to say. "Ye—no," he corrected himself. He looked confused.

Was this what it was like to compel someone who had already been compelled? The hope feebly living off Lissa's optimism grew inside of her. I felt nothing but relief at the nearly solid confirmation that the guards had been compelled into all of this. It looked like we were going to make some progress in finding the key to my salvation.

"Yes? No? Were you there the entire time, Guardian Syerov?" Lissa asked, being sure that he was completely under her control, her power thrumming through her.

He seemed ever more confused, as if he couldn't decide. Slowly, he shook his head. "We moved."

"We as in you and you and Guardian Schroeder?"

Guardian Syerov nodded.

When asked why, he looked confused again. His mouth moved one way, then another. The formation of sentences started, then stopped abruptly. He tensed, bulky shoulders drawn tight and his eyes going through the same motions again. Different stages of listlessness crossed his features. He closed his eyes, but was instructed to look at Lissa to ensure that whatever hold on him was keeping his lips sealed would break. The amount of effort Lissa had to put into her compulsion then was amped up, her insides warm, her will burning. She was _not_ going to lose to whatever prior impediments were already in place within the man's memory.

For a moment, his jaw slackened. The crazy movements of his pupils paused, normal in size but the entire eye otherwise frozen in a state of constant bewilder.

"You will remember everything that happened," Lissa commanded firmly, drawing up the image of me in my cell to solidify her determination. Compulsion backed her every word, an ally and tool she was ready to use.

"She told us to leave," he explained. The words began to tumble off his tongue as though Lissa had broken a dam. "We were told to go down the hall. So we did, but then she called Guardian Schroeder back. I waited down the hall until they came back out. Then she made us come outside. We broke open a window from the outside. We went back inside. She told us to forget, that we had heard nothing and were standing there without fail the entire night."

A moment of tense silence passed. So the murderer was a woman, was it? I wasn't sure whether I should have been surprised by that or not. Maybe since Tatiana had been staked I was imagining more of a man being the culprit. Most women, unless they were trained guardians, would naturally lack the upper body strength to shove a stake through someone's heart. So unless this woman had been practicing her staking in her spare time (quite the hobby if you asked me), there had to be something more to it. With the same thought floating around in Lissa's head, I felt fairly sure in my assumption. At the same time, I feared if the notion forming in the back of my head was going to prove true or not. I sincerely hoped not.

"What did the woman look like? Did you know her?" Lissa questioned, her heart palpitations increasing in frequency.

"I don't know what her face looked like," Guardian Syerov answered immediate. "She was wearing a mask."

"Great cover," Abe muttered sarcastically. Raising his voice, he asked Guardian Syerov to describe the mask.

"It was black and white; it only covered the top half of her face."

I felt as though I was going to sink through the bed. Or maybe the couch Lissa was sitting on and it was Lissa who felt like she was going to fall through furniture. Whatever it was, it wasn't hard to guess that the mask came from the Death Watch. I had come uninvited to the private Moroi event, invited by Adrian whose mother had been the sort of coordinator of the entire thing. It was a ceremony meant for respecting the lives of dhampirs lost in battle for their sake. This one had taken place in memory of those who had died in the attack on the warehouse to rescue Christian and Lissa. I had also been kicked out of the event once Tatiana had noticed my presence there. She had told me then that it was actually a good thing that I had come, invited or not, so that I could see how my people was respected by the Moroi. Considering how shortly after that the decree had be issued that now young sophomores still wet behind the ears were going to be set loose against Strigoi, I really didn't know what to think of that anymore.

"Height, hair color?" Abe suggested. "Describe her otherwise."

"Dark hair, tall, bright eyes, Moroi…"

"Anything else?"

The conversation continued on for quite some time, but they wound up getting very little information afterwards. From there, it was a matter of Lissa releasing her control on the man. He slumped back in his seat for a while afterwards. Lissa, fearing that she had somehow done something in the midst of compelling him to remember what the Moroi had told him to forget, rushed to him and roused him. Once he regained consciousness, he grabbed her arm and stared at her, eyes wide. It was a weird look for his face for someone of his caliber. Behind her, I could hear the sound of what I assumed were Abe's guardians coming forward should their services be required.

"I…"

His face began to crumble. Shame overtook his features. He released Lissa and covered his face with his hands. I didn't want to see what sort of emotions were being displayed behind the barrier of his hands, so I hoped he kept them up. Of all things, to see a Royal Guard fall to pieces wasn't exactly something I needed right now. If I saw them, I'd almost feel guilty for having been the reason he was put through all of this. However, I was glad, almost in a twisted way that the information had been extracted from him. But simultaneously I couldn't quite shake the uncomfortable thought that something wrong had just taken place. Should I really have been worried about that when my very life was on the line? I decided that it didn't matter in the long run since it was already done.

When Guardian Syerov removed his hands from his face, what was revealed was a rather calm expression. It was a sign that he had put up his blank face again. Whatever he was thinking was only going to be shown through his eyes, and even those were rather hard to decipher at the moment.

"What have we done?" he asked aloud, voice laced with anger he couldn't conceal despite his best efforts.

Lissa looked to Abe for help, a surge of compassion preventing her from finding anything good to say. It was rather surprising since Lissa was far better with words than, say me who cursed openly before open the Queen . The ol' man had an indecipherable expression etched across his face. Finally shifting his position, he rested his elbows on his knees, legs slightly apart.

"I can't tell you that. What I can tell you is that it's in your best interesting offer anything else you can," Zmey said gravely. His eyes were impossibly dark, his mouth an immutable line. He was so serious I almost didn't want to hear what was going to come out of his mouth. "We're trying to save a life here. So you either do what you can or you stay out of our way. Am I clear?"

A burst of pride swept through me. I admired how much Zmey cared. While he might have been indirectly threatening one of the Court's most prized Guardians, he knew where his values lied. As ironic as that is to say, his loyalty to his kinsman was well deserving of some praise. I was going to have to pat him on the back the next time I saw him. I almost thought of a hug, but the idea self-destructed on me.

Guardian Syerov's understanding was clear, but he didn't seem to feel any more at ease than he did moments ago. He did earn himself plenty of points in my book. While I felt compassion for him, the stirrings of rage were beginning to simmer inside of me. Whoever did this was about to have another thing coming. A storm was coming their way and there was going to be no stopping it. Not while I was still alive for that matter.

Lissa and Abe gave Guardian Syerov a moment of silence. In the meantime, Lissa's emotions began running rampant. She felt sorry for the guardian before her and traces of exhaustion from the effort, knowing there was only more to come. The very idea of that twisted her insides mercilessly. She suddenly didn't even want to talk to Guardian Schroeder. Dread made her wish she never would have to question him, never have to see him come out of that room and sit on the couch like his partner. But Lissa couldn't do that. Not when it was my life that was on the line. They needed to know what happened, what secrets were locked inside the man's head.

Even if that meant finding out that the other guardian, the one that had gone into the room with the Moroi woman, had been the driving force putting my stake through the queen's heart.


End file.
